


the echo of what you won’t say

by janigkale



Series: ripples [3]
Category: Glee, Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Basically, Bruises, Drabble... ish?, Gen, New York, Post-Spider-Man: Homecoming, Pre-Avengers: Infinity War Part 1 (Movie), Questionable Ending, Short One Shot, Subways, Time Shift, Truth, and Kurt notices, may have a sequel, peter’s hiding something
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-20
Updated: 2018-06-20
Packaged: 2019-05-26 03:00:02
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 588
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14991314
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/janigkale/pseuds/janigkale
Summary: Peter gets bruises from his alterego all the time, and admittedly he’s not that great at hiding it. Most people don’t notice. But after a few weekend subway rides, Kurt Hummel is the first.





	the echo of what you won’t say

**Author's Note:**

> Seriously, this story has no origin. But I kind of wanted to crossover two fandoms that usually don’t have that much reason to be put together. Happy reading!

There’s this kid, Kurt notes, maybe sixteen, tiny, and for the last three weekends, he’s coming in with bruises. Ok, technically, _no_ , but Kurt knows good concealer when he sees it, and if he can see purple reaching out from the kid’s skin, he knows something’s up. This kid also happens to take the same subway as Kurt at 8 in the mornings on Saturdays. He wears t-shirts with garish colors and the worst absolute puns, but somehow, he thinks Artie would appreciate them. His name is Peter, but Kurt only knows that because he heard him talking on the phone once and _that’s not stalking Rachel, you’ve done worse._

So.

So?

So, the fourth time said kid comes in with bruises, Kurt sighs, and waits till he gets out.

“You know, if you’d really want to hide those, you could use something closer to your skin tone.” Peter whirls around, looks him over, and then his body relaxes the tiniest bit. His chestnut eyes are blown wide, but he nervously laughs.

Kurt rolls his eyes. Seriously, he’s an expert on picking out bs and this tiny kid’s not going to even come _close_ to stopping him. “Okay, yes, I noticed, I have eyes. Spill.”

Peter looks at him, freezes up, but then sags to the wall beside him. “These kids keep beating me up, it’s not a big deal.” But it is, and Kurt freaking knows it, because he remembers the whine of lockers in his head like a broken radio, the metallic taste of blood. He bites his lip, but Peter’s still not making eye contact, and even through he’s obviously upset, there’s something about him that seems… off. Kurt narrows his eyes. “That’s not all, is it?”

But then the next train comes, and he needs to get _on_ said train if he’s going to get to his vocal training class. Kurt looks back for a second, but Peter’s gone in a hurricane of people.

  
Tony Stark’s on TV when he gets back, and Artie’s pretending not to watch him, even though Kurt knows him way too well. He dumps his messenger bag unceremoniously next to him, and on a whim, opens his drawers of moisturizers. There’s one color of _something_ , if he recalls that matched, and when he finally finds the circular bottle, he slips it next to his coffee thermos and hauls an afghan on the couch.

Then, before Rachel comes, he steals the remote and finds _Grey’s Anatomy,_ which pisses Artie off. Kurt flashes him a grin, but he can’t stop thinking about the kid on the train.

 

The next Saturday, Kurt presses the bottle in Peter’s right hand, and he looks up confused. “...Thanks?” Kurt recognizes that brand of confusion anywhere he sees it, and he sighs.

“There’s instructions on the back and some information on where to get it.” Peter’s eyes widen, and he turns the bottle over in his hand, and gives Kurt the smallest of grins. “Oh! Thanks!” He darts away, ‘Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle T-Shirt’ and all, but Kurt feels slightly warmed.

He grips the coolness of the subway bar, waiting for the chime of closing doors. “Stay safe,” he murmurs, not quite true to even himself.

 

The next weekend, Peter comes in with a perfectly clear face, and Kurt grins at him, hard. Maybe he won’t tell him everything- but at least the half empty bottle of concealer in Peter’s backpack is enough to reassure Kurt for now.

Maybe. But he’ll find out sooner or later.

 


End file.
